Kabul, Aug 19 (DPA) It was a key moment of change: At Afghanistan's first free presidential election in October 2004, long queues snaked in front of the polling stations in Kabul, and the hope for freedom and a better future was palpable.

A majority voted for then-interim president Hamid Karzai. At his swearing-in ceremony two months later, he said: 'We have now left a hard and dark past behind us, and today, we are opening a new chapter in our history.'

The optimism was misplaced. The situation is worse now than at any point since the 2001 overthrow of the Taliban, but Karzai is still the frontrunner in the presidential election scheduled for Aug 20.

At his inauguration five years ago, the president, who received strong US backing, said he would stop the cultivation of opium and disarm the militias during his term in office. He also promised to tackle poverty and corruption, reform the government, rebuild the country's shattered infrastructure and continue the fight against terrorism.

But a look at the achievements of his eight-year presidency - including his time as interim president - is sobering.

Under Karzai, Afghanistan has again become the world's largest producer of raw opium.

Poverty has not been eradicated either. Afghanistan has achieved high rates of economic growth for years - albeit from a low base - but millions of Afghans struggle just to survive, and jobs are in short supply.

Afghanistan also placed 176th on Transparency International's corruption index of 180 countries. Administrative reforms only happen slowly, and there is little legal stability.

In addition, Karzai has given jobs to powerful warlords instead of depriving them of power.

For one, he has chosen the warlord Mohammad Kasim Fahim - a former prominent member of the Northern Alliance whom human rights organisations accused of war crimes - as his running mate.

Although that selection dealt a blow to the Northern Alliance, which is pitting former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah against Karzai in the presidential election, Karzai has duped not only the international community but also many Afghans who would like to see warlords like Fahim in jail rather than sticking their noses in the public trough.

Slow progress has been seen in Afghanistan's reconstruction as well. The population's impatience is growing, and dissatisfied Afghans are easy targets for Taliban recruiters.

Despite the constantly rising number of foreign and Afghan security forces, the militants, who are warning Afghans not to take part in the election, have most certainly not been defeated.

About 100,000 foreign soldiers are deployed in Afghanistan, several times the number at the start of the operation. Last month, more foreign troops were killed than in any month since the overthrow of the Taliban, and opposition to the deployment is growing in many countries that supply those troops.